Game of Thrones: Last Year’s Most Stunning Image Was Actually Kit Harington’s Idea

Though the Season 6 Game of Thrones finale was a stylish, eye-popping affair, it was this year’s penultimate episode, “The Battle of the Bastards,” that made the biggest impression, visually, on most fans. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter,Kit Harington credits the episode with landing him his first Emmy nomination. And while Harington can take pride in this official, awards-season recognition of his performance as Jon Snow, he has something else to be proud of as well. According to Harington, the episode’s most striking image of Jon drowning in a sea of bodies was actually the actor’s idea.

In a recent interview with Deadline, series creators D.B. Weiss and David Benioff admitted they had to scrap a lot of their plan for the battle due to budget and time constraints. Their original plan, they said, “ended up being 50 percent more expensive and time-consuming than what we ended up shooting. Which was itself 50 percent more expensive and time-consuming than what we initially thought we could afford, and we were being generous. So we reconfigured it, with lots of directorial input from Miguel Sapochnik.”

But it turns out Sapochnik got the idea for the battle’s mosh pit moment, from Harington’s real-world phobia. “Everything had backed up a bit and we were running out of time to shoot what we had intended,” Harington told THR. “Miguel and I talked about what my greatest fears are. And as it happens, one of my greatest fears is a human crush—those horrible stories you hear about stadiums where people literally suffocate to death because they can’t get out of other people panicking. I thought if we could do that in this sequence, that could be really terrifying for the viewer.”

Harington and Sapochnik were right, of course, and the massive crush of human bodies around Jon became the episode’s most relatably terrifying moment. The image also provided yet another visual parallel between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen.

But, according to Harington, that visual was an accident. “Strangely enough, without even thinking about it too much, when he breaks free and climbs his way back up, in a way it’s like a rebirth for him,” Harington said of Jon’s escape. “He doesn't give up. He doesn’t stay down. He fights his way out. It looks a lot like the shot when Daenerys [Emilia Clarke] is being held aloft by the free slaves. That was a happy accident. We didn’t realize how those two would be compared.”

There you have it: while most of Game of Thrones is meticulously planned out months in advance, sometimes the greatest ideas come from the mouths of total babes.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

According to prosthetics supervisor Barrie Gower, those faces were molded from Game of Thrones show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

YouTube Comedian Steve Love

YouTube comedian Steve Love got so much attention for his Game of Thrones impressions that he landed a Season 6 cameo. “I was contacted by the Game of Thrones producers after I was on Kimmel, and they asked if I wanted to be on the show and I was like ‘Yes!'” he told CTV News. “I was like ‘I’ll wrestle a bear naked, I don’t care. I’ll do whatever you want me to do!’ So then I contacted them back afterwards and was like ‘I don’t know what your plan is for me, but it would really mean a lot to me if you gave me one of those trademark gruesome death scenes.'”

“They wrote me back and they basically said ‘Actually Steve that was exactly what we had in mind. You’ll bite the bullet, don’t worry.'”

Mastodon

Members of the metal band Mastodon—Brann Dailor, Bill Kelliher, and Brent Hinds—got to play undead Wildlings in the Season 5 episode “Hardhome.” You can see them up close here. Dailor told Pitchfork, “I watched my best friends Brent and Bill, murdered right in front of me as I myself was stabbed in the stomach and had my throat slit multiple times, and I didn't mind at all. We are more than privileged and honored to have been a part of one of the greatest stories ever told on film, and the catering wasn't bad either.”

Unlike some musicians who made cameos before them, Mastodon did not record a song for their episode of Game of Thrones. They did, however, put together a song called “White Walker” for Catch the Throne, a Game of Thrones mixtape.

David Benioff’s Parents

David Benioff’s parents appear briefly as some villagers during the Season 4 premiere “Two Swords.” Benioff’s father, Stephen Friedman, was the former head of Goldman Sachs, former Chairman of the New York Federal Reserve Board, and a member of the George W. Bush administration.

Barrie Gower’s Mom

Benioff wasn’t the only one to work his parents into Game of Thrones. Prosthetics supervisor Barrie Gower gave his mom’s face the spotlight in this Season 5 scene.

Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody

Blink and you’ll miss Lightbody as a Bolton soldier on the left side riding by on a horse in this Season 3 scene. But you can clearly hear his voice ring out as the men sing another famous Song of Ice and Fire tune: “The Bear and the Maiden Fair.”

Of Monsters and Men

Have you noticed a theme among the bands making cameos on Game of Thrones? Snow Patrol, Coldplay, Mastadon, Of Monsters and Men? Seems like it helps to be either frosty or monstrous if you want a Game of Thrones musical cameo. The Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men made their debut plunking out some music to accompany the Braavosi players. According to Ragnar “Raggi” Thorhallsson, the band had been begging to be extras for years but, in the end, landed a much sweeter gig getting to play actual music as part of Season 6.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

According to prosthetics supervisor Barrie Gower, those faces were molded from Game of Thrones show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

YouTube Comedian Steve Love

YouTube comedian Steve Love got so much attention for his Game of Thrones impressions that he landed a Season 6 cameo. “I was contacted by the Game of Thrones producers after I was on Kimmel, and they asked if I wanted to be on the show and I was like ‘Yes!'” he told CTV News. “I was like ‘I’ll wrestle a bear naked, I don’t care. I’ll do whatever you want me to do!’ So then I contacted them back afterwards and was like ‘I don’t know what your plan is for me, but it would really mean a lot to me if you gave me one of those trademark gruesome death scenes.'”

“They wrote me back and they basically said ‘Actually Steve that was exactly what we had in mind. You’ll bite the bullet, don’t worry.'”

Mastodon

Members of the metal band Mastodon—Brann Dailor, Bill Kelliher, and Brent Hinds—got to play undead Wildlings in the Season 5 episode “Hardhome.” You can see them up close here. Dailor told Pitchfork, “I watched my best friends Brent and Bill, murdered right in front of me as I myself was stabbed in the stomach and had my throat slit multiple times, and I didn't mind at all. We are more than privileged and honored to have been a part of one of the greatest stories ever told on film, and the catering wasn't bad either.”

Unlike some musicians who made cameos before them, Mastodon did not record a song for their episode of Game of Thrones. They did, however, put together a song called “White Walker” for Catch the Throne, a Game of Thrones mixtape.

David Benioff’s Parents

David Benioff’s parents appear briefly as some villagers during the Season 4 premiere “Two Swords.” Benioff’s father, Stephen Friedman, was the former head of Goldman Sachs, former Chairman of the New York Federal Reserve Board, and a member of the George W. Bush administration.

George W. Bush

Speaking of George W. Bush, HBO came under fire in Season 1 when a prosthetic version of the former president’s head found it’s way onto a pike at King’s Landing. Bush’s likeness has since been scrubbed of all defining features, but the original footage still exists out there.

Sigur Rós

The Icelandic trio Sigur Rós appeared at Joffrey’s wedding to play a dour cover of The National’s version of “The Rains of Castamere.” Though their appearance was unpopular with King Joffrey, Georg Holm of Sigur Rós said, “The meanest person in television history, King Joffrey, is played by the sweetest guy Jack Gleeson. It felt like a natural thing to make our version of ‘Rains of Castamere.’ We probably managed to create the gloomiest version so far. It is maybe not the happiest wedding song, but we think that it fit the scene very well.”

Director Neil Marshall

Marshall, an archery enthusiast, couldn’t resist inserting himself into the Battle of Castle Black in Season 4. He even gets a quick close-up aiming his bow at the army of wildlings and giants.

Coldplay drummer Will Champion

Perhaps no musical moment in the history of Game of Thrones has been as important as the cue at the Red Wedding. The Frey musicians switch from some rollicking, festive tunes to, you guessed it, an ominous version of “Rains of Castamere.” That cue set off the violence that would take out so many Starks and their bannermen. Champion—a massive Game of Thrones fan—was there for it all blissfully banging away on his drum. Champion got to team up with Game of Thrones again in 2015 for the Red Nose Day musical which raised more than $21 million for a number of charities.

Barrie Gower’s Mom

Benioff wasn’t the only one to work his parents into Game of Thrones. Prosthetics supervisor Barrie Gower gave his mom’s face the spotlight in this Season 5 scene.

Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody

Blink and you’ll miss Lightbody as a Bolton soldier on the left side riding by on a horse in this Season 3 scene. But you can clearly hear his voice ring out as the men sing another famous Song of Ice and Fire tune: “The Bear and the Maiden Fair.”

Of Monsters and Men

Have you noticed a theme among the bands making cameos on Game of Thrones? Snow Patrol, Coldplay, Mastadon, Of Monsters and Men? Seems like it helps to be either frosty or monstrous if you want a Game of Thrones musical cameo. The Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men made their debut plunking out some music to accompany the Braavosi players. According to Ragnar “Raggi” Thorhallsson, the band had been begging to be extras for years but, in the end, landed a much sweeter gig getting to play actual music as part of Season 6.